India projected to grow at an annual rate of 6.7% through 2031: S&P Global

The Indian economy is expected to grow by an average annual rate of 6.7 per cent to March 2031, according to a forecast by S&P Global on Thursday. Despite short-term challenges from rate hikes and a global slowdown, growth led by manufacturing and service exports and consumer demand has been projected.

Reuters quoted S&P Globalreportas saying, "While the world is in the midst of an unprecedented period of transition and uncertainty, India faces a defining opportunity to capitalise on this moment."

India could possibly overtake Japan and China and become the world’s third largest economy, if S&P Global’s forecast of the per capita GDP rising to $4,500 is realised. According to the rating agency, India's economy is expected to reach $6.7 trillion in 2031 from $3.4 trillion in 2023.

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According to the report, with the government providing incentives to firms and improving infrastructure, India is all set to attract new opportunities in manufacturing.

The economy is expected to gain from tax reforms that will increase efficiency, from state support for physical and digital infrastructure, and from a decrease in leakages from government subsidy payments.

Due to rising household incomes and increased expenditure on food and other commodities, the Indian consumer market would more than double by 2031, rising to $5.2 trillion from $2.3 trillion in 2023.

“Higher per capita incomes will also likely boost discretionary spending in areas such as entertainment, communications, restaurants and hotels," Reuters quoted the report as saying.

S&P Global stated that in addition to expanding female participation in the workforce to enjoy a demographic dividend, creating a strong logistics framework will be essential in re-orientingIndia’s economy towards manufacturing.

An addition of 30 million jobs expected by 2030 as India’s construction sector booms: Knight Frank

The construction sector in India could add about 30 million jobs by 2030 as the urban housing demand and state spending on infrastructure including roads increases, as per an industry report released on Thursday.

Construction, India’s second-largest sector after agriculture, is seeing an increase in investment interest due to improved business sentiment and conductive policy measures, realty consultantKnight Frank said.

“We are seeing a surge in real-estate demand in the top eight cities as well as in smaller towns, driven by rising household incomes and global service providers who are outsourcing to India," Gulam Zia, executive director of Knight Frank, said.

As per Knight Frank's projections,India’s construction industry will contribute nearly one-fifth to theGDP by 2030 and support 100 million jobs.

According to the report, construction companies are anticipated to increase employment opportunities for 10.5 million skilled individuals, approximately 80 million semi-skilled workers, 1.1 million engineers, 1.5 million technicians, and a million office workers.

According to the realty consultant, the real estate sector's annual turnover is likely toincrease to $1 trillion by 2030.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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According to the Frank Knight report, presently only about 50 per cent of the graduating civil engineers remain in the sector as they find it difficult to meet the requirements of the industry and can find employment elsewhere.

(With inputs from Reuters)